Why is my seasoning coming off on my eggs when I cook them

D

D George

Member
Seasoned with grapeseed oil I use butter for lube. Medium heat, when I turn the eggs over to cook the tops a bit I notice black on the bottom of the eggs. Never noticed this with my other skillets.
ETA: It's an old Wagoner pan.
 
I am probably way off but the only place I can think of black coming from is the pan was not cleaned good enough when it came out of the E-tank and before seasoning.
 
RJ Ruchti said:
I am probably way off but the only place I can think of black coming from is the pan was not cleaned good enough when it came out of the E-tank and before seasoning.
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I completely cleaned it down to bare metal. Did Easy off followed up by electrolysis because of some fine pepper pitting. Then I washed it and seasoned.
 
I've had the same experience with newly seasoned pans. I've found if you use more oil in the pan (at least a quarter inch of oil) the first few times you cook with it, you will eventually stop seeing the black on your eggs.
 
After a bath in LYE (if needed), into the E-Tank, Wire wheel, Thorough Scrubbing, Swab in white vinegar, thorough scrubbing, season, no problems.
 
Wire wheel is not recommended for collectible iron. The leaving of any marks by it impacts (destroys) collectible value.
 
Agreed, no wire wheels. Fortunately for me, my excursion with a wire wheel was on an expendable "1891" Wagner anniversary skillet.
 
Respectfully disagree with the "no Wire Wheeling". When I started collecting cast iron in the mid 1980's, LYE Bath and wire wheeling were recommended methods for restoration. I have restored over 600 pieces, and sold over 500 pieces. The value of the sold pieces was not diminished due to wire wheeling. Any method of restoration (Lye, E-Tank, wire brushing/ wheeling, Scrubbing, and even seasoning) can have a detrimental affect to the piece. The key is to know when enough is enough.
This is a fabulous website and it was not my intent to mislead or misinform anyone.
That being said, I will stop posting comments and pictures about my experiences collecting and restoring cast iron.
For anyone out there who may have felt mislead or misinformed please accept my sincerest apology.
 
I would expand that to "Any method of restoration (Lye, E-Tank, wire brushing/ wheeling, Scrubbing, and even seasoning) used incorrectly can have a detrimental affect to the piece." That's the concern. We can teach people the correct way to use an e-tank, lye, SS scrubber, molasses, etc. and know there won't be damage if they follow the instructions.

And yes, the key is to know when enough is enough, and I expect that more than one person, back in a time when a wire wheel may have been recommended, ended up doing what we consider damage today to at least one pan before they figured it out. But we can't trust that a novice will not ruin a collectible with a wire wheel when all we can say is "Hey, if you've never done it before, be careful you don't leave marks in the iron". For that reason, wire wheel, sandblasting and "throw it in a fire" all fall in the same category: not recommended.
 
Yeah, I know I would never use a wire wheel or sandblasting. I have a #7 Griswold heat ring skillet that someone did this to. The inside is smooth as glass, but the outside makes it not worth much but for cooking.
 
Ok, so this pan was mildly abused. Had light pitting when I got it, figuring with the pitting and it being an unmarked Wagoner I did some light sanding on the rust pits. Finished it out smooth though. Since I originally posted I have cooked on it a dozen times or so and as of Sunday no more black on my eggs. I cook with regular butter or sometimes cooking spray. I love this pan as I can actually use it without worries.
Wagoner 8.jpg
 
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